


A Change of Plans

by HiddenTreasures



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 12:25:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11783127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenTreasures/pseuds/HiddenTreasures
Summary: Rose resigns herself to the fact that she’ll never be anything more than best mates with James, until he calls her up, under the impression they’re going to the prom together.





	A Change of Plans

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to prom, sweetheart? This is going to be the last chance to hang out with all of your friends before you go off to uni.”

Rose stifled a sigh, but rolled her eyes behind her mum’s back.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said.

“Did no one ask you?” Jackie asked gently.

“No,” Rose said. “I mean, yes, they did, but I didn’t want to go with any of them. I just want to stay in, Mum.”

Jackie dropped it, thankfully, because Rose didn’t want to think about prom anymore. Truthfully, she did want to go, but the one person she wanted to go with never asked her. Her best mate, James.

Ever since the announcement for prom had been made, she had been subtly dropping hints that she wanted to go with him, while simultaneously trying to figure out if he even wanted to go, but James always seemed to deflect away from the topic, so Rose resigned herself to the fact that he didn’t want to go.

She’d been asked to the dance by three other blokes, but she’d turned them all down. They just weren’t James, and it wouldn’t be fair of her to lead them on and ruin their night.

But that was okay. Maybe she could call James and see if he wanted to hang out with her on prom night instead. They could catch dinner and a movie, and spend some time with each other before uni started. They were going to the same school, so Rose wasn’t completely worried about losing touch with him, but she knew their uni schedules would most likely be hectic and not coincide at all, so she wanted to spend as much uninterrupted time with him now while she still could.

Just as Rose was about to call James to see if he had plans for Saturday night, the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hiya!” Rose couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her best friend’s voice. “Question for you: what color should I wear to prom?”

Rose’s heart sank. So he _had_ been interested in going to prom. Just not with her. The air seemed to leave her lungs and her eyes burned as and she tried not to be jealous of whichever lucky girl he would be taking to the dance.

“Uhm, I don’t know,” Rose mumbled, rubbing her fingers into her wet eyes. _Ask your bloody date,_ she wanted to snap. But she held it back. James, bless him, wasn’t the most fashion-sensible, and the poor bloke was probably clueless as to the customs of prom. No matter how angry or hurt she was, she could never refuse him help.

“Well, we have to match,” he continued, and Rose’s hurt vanished, leaving confusion in its wake. “What color’s your dress?”

Rose’s pulse pounded in her ears as she tried to work through what James was saying. It sounded like he was under the impression that they were going to the dance together, but…

“So, uhm, since when are we going to prom together?” Rose managed to ask, hoping her voice sounded steady.

The line went completely silent, and remained quiet for so long that Rose thought the call got disconnected. Then she heard a soft exhale.

“Shit,” he whispered. “Oh, bugger. Shit. I forgot to ask you.”

Rose bit her lip around a grin. _My daft James._

“Bugger!” he growled again, and Rose could see the way he probably had his hand in his hair, yanking on the strands until they stuck up in all directions. He then sighed, and it was such a sad sound and it made Rose want to drop the phone and catch the bus to his house so she could give him a hug. “I suppose you’ve already been asked to the dance.”

“Yeah, I have,” she said.

He sniffed.

“Oh,” he said, his voice sounding choked. “Right. Great. Yeah. Of course you have. Brilliant. That’s great. Yeah.”

“I’ve said no,” she said, unable to torment him any longer.

“No, it’s okay, I understand. It’s fi—” His voice cut off, as though his brain finally caught up to what his ears had heard. “Wait. What?”

“I’ve said no,” she repeated. “I’d kind of been hoping my best friend might ask me, but he never did.”

James made a squeaking noise, and Rose laughed.

“Ehm, you have?” he asked, sounding flustered.

“Yep,” she said, popping the ‘p’ like he always did.

“Ehm, well then. Might you be agreeable to going with me to prom this weekend?” he asked in a rush.

“What makes you think you were the best friend I was talking about?” she teased. But when he stayed silent, Rose realized how very nervous and unsure he must be. “James, I’m joking. You know you’re my best mate. Have been since the day we met.”

“Yeah?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” she said firmly, feeling her heart break a little bit that he hadn’t known. “Yes, James you’re my very best friend.”

“You’re my best friend, too. So you’ll go to prom with me?” he asked excitedly.

Before Rose could blurt out an affirmative, her heart sank.

“I don’t have a dress,” she admitted. “And I didn’t buy a ticket.”

“Oh, no problem, I’ll swing by yours and we can go down to the shops,” James said. “That way we can both decide on a color palette. If… if you want to go to prom with me, of course.”

“I do,” she said immediately. “I really do. But that still doesn’t solve the problem of me not having a ticket.”

“Ah, yes, well,” he said. “Remember that little fact about me being under the impression we were going to prom together despite me not having asked? I bought the couples’ ticket, yours and mine, so you’re all set.”

Rose beamed widely. “It’s a date!”

James sucked in a sharp breath, and Rose frowned. For being best mates, and being completely comfortable with each other, James certainly seemed far too anxious throughout the entirety of the phone call.

“Speaking of a date,” he said, his voice warbling. “Er, I was wondering… er… if you… if you might… er… if you’d like to… bemygirlfriend. Maybe?”

Rose blinked. Surely she’d misheard. James was her best friend, and had been for nearly ten years. They’d grown up together, gone to school together, hung out together. He’d never expressed any interest in her, romantically. Well, to be fair, he’d never expressed any interest in anyone else, either. Sure, they held hands and snuggled together on the sofa to watch a movie, and honestly spent more time with each other than anyone else… But that was just because they were the best of friends… Right?

“Rose?” he asked nervously.

“Can you ask me that again?” she asked, by now certain that her brain had invented the words, and that she had simply projected her own desires onto whatever sentence he had just spoken.

“Well, er… I was just wondering… if maybe you’d like to, er, to be my girlfriend?” he said again, speaking more slowly this time.

Rose’s heart jumped into her throat. “You mean it?” she choked out.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “So… what do you think?”

“Yeah,” she answered, beaming widely. “Yeah, James. I’ll be your girlfriend.”

James crowed out a delighted laugh, and the sound sent warmth fizzing through Rose’s veins.

“Oh, brilliant!” he exclaimed, and Rose could hear the grin in his voice. “Brilliant! Fantastic! Wonderful! Ha!”

Rose laughed at her daft James—her daft _boyfriend_ , she thought giddily—and said, “Well hurry up and get over here, then. We have some shopping to do, and there’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for ages, and can now that we’re dating.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his voice pitching high.

“Yep,” she said. She took in a breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach before she whispered, “Something like a first kiss?”

James let out an unintelligible squeak.

“Right, yes, good! That’s brilliant! Can’t wait! Be there soon! Bye!”

Rose giggled at the daftness of her situation as she replaced the phone on the hook.

“I take it your plans for the weekend have changed?”

Rose jumped, having forgotten her mum was home. Her cheeks burned, but she couldn’t stop smiling as she whispered, “Yeah. Yeah, they have.”

Jackie smiled softly as she said, “I’m happy for you Rose. You and that daft boy. While you’re out shopping, though, make sure you get a box of condoms. Don’t want any accidents to happen.”

“Mum!” Rose groaned, feeling mortified. “We _just_ agreed to start dating!”

“Yeah, but you an’ him have been making heart eyes at each other for at least three years now,” Jackie said. “Don’t deny it. I’ve seen you an’ him together.”

Rose groaned again and scrubbed her hands over her face before she turned away from her mum to get herself ready for dress shopping.


End file.
